Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersIndependent Spirit AwardsWomen's History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Towering Inferno

  • 19741974
  • PGPG
  • 2h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
45K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,445
2,549
Fred Astaire, William Holden, Paul Newman, Richard Chamberlain, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Blakely, and Jennifer Jones in The Towering Inferno (1974)
Home Video Trailer from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Play trailer2:12
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionDramaThriller
At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
45K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,445
2,549
  • Director
    • John Guillermin
  • Writers
    • Richard Martin Stern(novel "The Tower")
    • Thomas N. Scortia(novel "The Glass Inferno")
    • Frank M. Robinson(novel "The Glass Inferno")
  • Stars
    • Paul Newman
    • Steve McQueen
    • William Holden
  • Director
    • John Guillermin
  • Writers
    • Richard Martin Stern(novel "The Tower")
    • Thomas N. Scortia(novel "The Glass Inferno")
    • Frank M. Robinson(novel "The Glass Inferno")
  • Stars
    • Paul Newman
    • Steve McQueen
    • William Holden
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 269User reviews
    • 99Critic reviews
    • 69Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 3 Oscars
      • 12 wins & 13 nominations total

    Videos1

    The Towering Inferno
    Trailer 2:12
    Watch The Towering Inferno

    Photos173

    Fred Astaire in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    Fred Astaire in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    Irwin Allen in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    William Holden in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    The Towering Inferno (1974)
    Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    The Towering Inferno (1974)
    Paul Newman and Faye Dunaway in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    The Towering Inferno (1974)
    Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and Faye Dunaway in The Towering Inferno (1974)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Paul Newman
    Paul Newman
    • Doug Roberts
    Steve McQueen
    Steve McQueen
    • Chief O'Halloran
    William Holden
    William Holden
    • Jim Duncan
    Faye Dunaway
    Faye Dunaway
    • Susan
    Fred Astaire
    Fred Astaire
    • Harlee Claiborne
    Susan Blakely
    Susan Blakely
    • Patty
    Richard Chamberlain
    Richard Chamberlain
    • Simmons
    Jennifer Jones
    Jennifer Jones
    • Lisolette
    O.J. Simpson
    O.J. Simpson
    • Jernigan
    Robert Vaughn
    Robert Vaughn
    • Senator Parker
    Robert Wagner
    Robert Wagner
    • Dan Bigelow
    Susan Flannery
    Susan Flannery
    • Lorrie
    Sheila Allen
    Sheila Allen
    • Paula Ramsay
    • (as Sheila Mathews)
    Norman Burton
    Norman Burton
    • Giddings
    • (as Normann Burton)
    Jack Collins
    Jack Collins
    • Mayor Ramsay
    Don Gordon
    Don Gordon
    • Kappy
    Felton Perry
    Felton Perry
    • Scott
    Gregory Sierra
    Gregory Sierra
    • Carlos
    • Director
      • John Guillermin
    • Writers
      • Richard Martin Stern(novel "The Tower")
      • Thomas N. Scortia(novel "The Glass Inferno")
      • Frank M. Robinson(novel "The Glass Inferno")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Poseidon Adventure
    7.1
    The Poseidon Adventure
    Earthquake
    5.9
    Earthquake
    Bullitt
    7.4
    Bullitt
    Papillon
    8.0
    Papillon
    Airport
    6.6
    Airport
    The Getaway
    7.3
    The Getaway
    Marathon Man
    7.4
    Marathon Man
    An Enemy of the People
    6.9
    An Enemy of the People
    Magnum Force
    7.2
    Magnum Force
    Tom Horn
    6.8
    Tom Horn
    The Dirty Dozen
    7.7
    The Dirty Dozen
    The Magnificent Seven
    7.7
    The Magnificent Seven

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After seeing this film, novelist Roderick Thorp had a dream that same night about a man being chased through a skyscraper by gun-wielding assailants. This was the inspiration for his 1979 book Nothing Lasts Forever which eventually was made into the film Die Hard (1988).
    • Goofs
      When O'Halloran is first setting up the forward command on 79 he asks Jernigan for a list of business tenants on 81 or above. Yet, according to the man showing an apartment to a couple near the beginning of the movie, the commercial tenants only go up as far as 80. From 81 up it's all residential.
    • Quotes

      Doug Roberts: I don't know. Maybe they just oughta leave it the way it is. Kind of a shrine to all the bullshit in the world.

    • Crazy credits
      The 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Pictures logos don't appear in the beginning.
    • Alternate versions
      The film was re-dubbed in 2003 for the German DVD release. All subsequent releases on DVD and Blu-ray feature this new dubbing, many TV airings as well.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Green Fog (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      We May Never Love Like This Again
      performed by Maureen McGovern

      Words and Music by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn

    User reviews269

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    McQueen and Newman create sparks
    Your typical dumb disaster flick, produced by the king of the genre, Irwin Allen, made notable by the presence of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman who finally agreed to share the screen as equals, something they almost did in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." The ever competitive McQueen made his film debut with a bit part in "Somebody Up There Likes Me" in which Newman starred, and one of his ambitions was to finally get top billing over his number one rival. Even with the so-called "diagonal billing" employed in the film and its advertising (with Newman's name elevated slightly above McQueen's), those of us who read from left to right can see that McQueen got his wish. He also got the best role. He's the firefighter, a tight jawed man of action, while Newman is saddled with the less sympathetic role of the architect. But the real star is the burning building. It burns, and impressively at that, but there's something very claustrophobic about this situation which results in less action than Allen's previous smash, "The Posiedon Adventure."

    But the acting is better. In addition to McQueen and Newman, the cast includes Richard Chamberlain (particularly good), William Holden, Faye Dunaway, and Fred Astaire. That's an improvement over Carol Lynley and Eric Shea, both of whom Gene Hackman had the misfortune of emoting with two years earlier. Whatever one thinks of this particular genre, "The Towering Inferno" is probably the best of the bunch.
    helpful•43
    17
    • bwaynef
    • Dec 13, 2003

    FAQ1

    • Lisolette Mueller remembers while fleeing the fire that she has left her cat in her apartment. What happened to it?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 14, 1974 (Canada)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Flammendes Inferno
    • Filming locations
      • 2898 Vallejo Street, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California, USA(Roger and Patty Simmons' house)
    • Production companies
      • Twentieth Century Fox
      • Warner Bros.
      • Irwin Allen Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $14,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $116,000,000
    • Gross worldwide
      • $116,000,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 45 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Fred Astaire, William Holden, Paul Newman, Richard Chamberlain, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, O.J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Blakely, and Jennifer Jones in The Towering Inferno (1974)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Towering Inferno (1974) officially released in India in Hindi?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.